


Where Did I Go Wrong?

by Mystic105



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), An entire album inspired this, Clubbing, Depressing, Drug Use, It's a Downward Spiral, My First Fanfic, Songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28042476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic105/pseuds/Mystic105
Summary: Asami Sato has had many ups and downs throughout her life but all of it changed when she became twenty one. In the span of one night, her life is completely thrown off course after losing everyone around her. She now has to battle her true demons, new and old, as she falls for a new lover. Will Asami succumb to the darkness or will she find peace and swim in the light?Rating will start at a teen and will move up to mature at a later date. I'm really bad at summaries too.
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato, Mako/Asami Sato
Comments: 1
Kudos: 43





	1. She Might Leave Soon

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I want to start this off by saying thank you for even clicking on this story. This is my first ever work and I’m already nervous even just putting this out. This chapter, and this entire work, is majorly based off of Kanye West’s 2008 album “808’s and Heartbreak”. It also includes inspiration from my own past dealing with issues similar to the subject matter of this album and the short film released in tandem with this album (more on that later). P.S: Kanye, please don’t sue me. Song links for each chapter will be below. Each chapter corresponds to a track on the album. Finally, leave any criticisms or thoughts below. I’m trying to get better at writing and I hope that this is a start. Thanks for reading these notes if you did.
> 
> Song Links:
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/track/5e5MKPtJuFb8NaeSEyV5gD?si=0g6upDDVStaOXgrJPbmPyA  
> https://music.apple.com/us/album/808s-heartbreak/1441410287 (Play track 1)

_Faint beeps started to register in the young girl’s mind and filled the room as Asami Sato glanced at the disfigured figure in front of her. Deep scars covered her mama’s body from head to toe, each one wider and deeper than the last. A mask was thrown over her mouth but her breathing could still be heard. It was faint, crackly and desperately trying to cling onto any oxygen as she laid in an unconscious state._

_“Two broken ribs, both of her legs were shattered in the crash and numerous glass cuts,” the doctor told the six year old and her father. He seemed genuinely sorry as if it happened to him as well. Asami’s father had been unresponsive for most of the time the two of them had been at the hospital. He had been crying into the comfort of his knees as the doctor told him the news. “I need to be strong. For her…,” he thought to himself as he slowly raised his head up for the first time they got there. He was Hiroshi Sato for christ’s sake. He proceeded to wipe the tears with the sleeve of his shirt as he slowly shook his head in understanding._

_The doctor proceeded to show the two family members x-rays. Two of her floating ribs had been seemingly severed from her body and the doctor was pointing at a specific fragment. It seemed to be suspended in air, stuck in the sea of her own body. Hiroshi could understand the circumstances even without verbal confirmation and that pushed him over the edge of breaking down once again. He first glanced over to Asami, who was staring perplexed at the x-ray, silently trying to put the pieces together. Hiroshi then turned to the love of his life and said..._

_“Yasuko”_

_One word. That was all he needed. The life support beeping continued while he began to crawl back into his cocoon, shutting out everything and everyone as he slowly tried to process the information around him. “That bastard will pay,” Hiroshi thought to himself as the tears continued to flow and the life support continued to beep. It almost sounded like a song._

_Asami, eyes once again fixated on her mother and the doctors coming in and out of the room, couldn’t understand the extreme tension in the room. Doctors were supposed to help fix people and bring them back to good health. At least that was what she was told her whole life. All of her experiences with doctors involved her being prescribed with medicine to make her feel better after contracting colds and other simple illnesses but this time it seemed different._

_Asami could hear words spoken around her but one kept her attention..._

_“Internal bleeding.”_

_It sounded both familiar but also foreign to her six year old mind. Asami had experienced bleeding before from cuts she got from falls or accidents from playing with her dad’s tools from his toolbox. It would involve a few tears before the bleeding was quickly stopped by a band-aid and a kiss from her mother as Asami would go back to her activities._

_Asami turned to her father, back in his shell, to ask “Daddy, what is internal bleeding?”_

_Hiroshi raised his head again from his shell, looking at her daughter with a dejected look before replying “The blood is flowing out inside of her, sweetie.”_

_“Can’t they stick a Band-Aid on it like mama used to do to me?” Asami asked again._

_“A band-aid won’t help. However, she will be alright sweetie. Trust me. Your mother has always been a strong woman. I think you got that from her,” he replied with a sad chuckle, trying to lighten the mood from the depressive state Asami saw her father in when he looked up._

_Asami was content with the news for now. It was all she could get._

________________________

_For what seemed like hours, it had been relatively quiet on the developments of what the hospital could do for Yasuko. Despite how quickly the panic died down, the panic began again in full force back in the medical room. The life support machine seemed to be slowing down it’s song subtly enough to pick up Hiroshi’s attention from his shell as well as from his silent mutters of revenge and sadness. The agony of being in the room was getting to him more and more._

_Hiroshi looked up in fear, eyes widening, realizing what this could mean. He turned to Asami, now trying to read a magazine placed next to her by the doctor’s for entertainment. It was cute but that was not the focus right now. He spoke up, in a calm tone of voice, to her and said, “‘Sami, I need to tell the medical workers here something important. Can you stay here for me, sweetie?” Asami nodded her head with a confused look as Hiroshi ran out of the room. She hoped that he would be back soon as she went back to her reading._

________________________

_A part of Asami slowly began to grow worried about what was happening and she assumed it had to do with her mother. She was able to pick up on the slowing of the machine but didn’t question it that much. Her father hadn’t been gone for a while but Asami felt an extreme sense of anxiety start to set in for no apparent reason._

_Luckily enough, Hiroshi was back in the room right as the tightening of her stomach began with two doctors and one nurse, as they were analyzing Yasuko’s vitals. It eased Asami seeing her father back in her vicinity. Subtle groans could be heard from Yasuko as she kept breathing in that raspy tone as one huge piece clicked into Asami’s head. “That fragment had hit her mama’s lung!” she quickly thought to herself._

_This revelation had shaken Asami and everything else started to make sense. The doctor’s sympathetic tone, her father’s isolated self and that raspy breathing coming from her mother since the moment they arrived in the room. All of these things overwhelmed Asami as she thought one thing..._

_“My mother is going to leave very soon,” Asami said and that’s when the tears started to flow. Just as her father had done earlier, She began to huddle into a cocoon in her knees and cry as the slowing down of the life support was all she could hear._

__________________________

_She couldn’t think about it. She wouldn’t think about it. Asami had already dealt with the leaving of another relative in the close past. An uncle taken from old age. She really didn’t have a connection with him but she still felt something seeing him in that casket. Guilt? Sympathy? Confusion? It was a swell of emotions that the six year old couldn’t grasp yet._

_Asami raised her head from her knees but didn’t know how long she had been in her cocoon but things seemed to be getting worse. Nurses and doctors were piling in one by one, brainstorming an idea to keep her precious mother alive._

_Hiroshi turned to his daughter, noticing the concern and anger bubbling from her young six year old face while he stood inside the crowd of medical employees. “She really looks like her mother,” Hiroshi thought as he walked over to her daughter in her chair and proceeded to say, “What did I tell you earlier? Your mother is so strong. The doctors are just a little worried about what the next move will be,” he said with a fake smile, trying his best to comfort her emotionally distraught daughter at this time._

_It was enough to pull Asami from her worried state but as quick it took for Asami to feel better, she was already back into panic. Her father had broken away from her after a quick message had been whispered into his ear and that tension in his face came back as he ran out of the room once again. However, Asami was in pursuit of her panicked father but as she passed through the same exit door her father did moments prior, a bright light in front of Asami and..._

***************

Asami woke up in a panic. Her eyes darted around the room in a frenzy, trying to affirm her reality. “It was just a dream,” she thought to herself, almost being relieved until she finally turned her head and glanced at the hospital bed in front of her and realized what she was seeing was not a dream. Hiroshi Sato, the only person in her family left, laying in a coma-like state while those same life support machines continued to beep, playing that same song she heard over fifteen years earlier. 

After the incident, her father was the only person who she could confide in but that relationship did not go both ways.

Hiroshi began to bury himself in his work, pushing all outside forces away from him, even removing pictures of his wife from the house entirely. He didn’t want, nor need, to think about her anymore with the weight of his company placed upon him.

Hiroshi was a hard-working man, always determined to reach the highest levels of achievement for his company in Republic City known as Future Industries. They were the leading innovators of the city, inventing the first Satomobiles, an extremely eco-friendly automobile. It was revolutionary for the metropolis and slowly made Future Industries as well as the Sato family extremely successful financially. His fear of losing his whole life’s work was the thought that kept him going.

But that all changed in the blink of an eye. It started with a persistent pain in Hiroshi’s back, burning as he would walk around the job. It ranged in intensity based on the days. He still pushed on forward, spending his days either at the Satomobile production facilities or his own home workshop, tinkering with Satomobiles and other inventions. However, Hiroshi’s urine began to turn blood red as the days drew on whenever he went to the bathroom, drawing a major concern. It started as a red tint to his urine before reaching points of intense pain and blood red urine shooting out over the course of a couple weeks. He couldn’t worry his daughter and company about it. “That would put all of my hard work to shame if I quit here,” Hiroshi always thought to himself in order to keep him going.

However, Hiroshi’s body hit a breaking point at a business meeting. It had started alright, with investors working on a new partnership with some water company. During this discussion though, Hiroshi started to experience the most immense shots of pain coming from his back than ever before. It had been too much to bear and he collapsed. It sent him straight to the hospital as the doctors tried to figure out the source of this pain and blood red urine after Hiroshi was forced to take a drug test.

They tried every test available and analyzed for diseases from kidney stones to osteoarthritis until they performed a core needle biopsy in the area of pain for further analysis. A tiny tissue sample was all the doctor’s needed to figure out the issue. Hiroshi couldn’t believe that this was what he was facing. Prostate cancer.

____________________

This news destroyed Asami but luckily the cancer had not metastasized by the time of discovery. “Chemo treatments would ensue and hopefully her dad would get better,” Asami would think as a way to calm herself down. Asami, now sixteen, couldn’t imagine her life without any family left. Hiroshi was the only one she had left after the loss of her mother. The after effects of that night had never subsided.

Constant awakenings from nightmares and an increased sense of paranoia she had picked up from her father after the rise of the Future Industries name both affected Asami dearly. She would occasionally glance over her shoulders whenever she walked down the street outside. Asami always tried to find the fastest routes from Point A to B in an attempt to calm her paranoia. She felt a glooming presence always around her so she kept to herself. It had left her broken and confused about her future but she had to hide it. Asami always remained calm and organized around anyone but when she was alone, she was the complete opposite. Always stuck in her head, isolated in her room staring at her ceiling playing whatever music she had in her playlists trying to help her get through the days. James Blake and Kid Cudi were two specific artists who Asami felt spoke directly to her. In these sessions, Asami would be unmotivated to do anything until one night, she finally thought about something. Her family. It had been too long.

“She needed to be there for her Dad,” she thought as she slowly decided to get up and walk down the 2nd floor hallway to his workshop, hearing the sound of an engine humming. It was always a sound that calmed Asami from a young age. When she reached the door, she opened it slowly, trying not to disturb the working her Dad was doing.

She cleared her throat to try and catch the attention of her father, still focused on the engine in front of him. The engine had been turned off by now. After a little more courage, she spoke up and said “Hi Dad.”

“Asami, what brings you here at this hour?” Hiroshi said with some anger in his voice. It was only 7:30 PM though and Asami noticed the tiny purple bags below her father’s eyes but did not mention it.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go do something tonight with me. Eat some food, watch a movie. Maybe even just talk,” Asami said with the last part being faint, trying to hide her true intentions.

“Just let me try and finish this project Asami. I’m so close to figuring out an easier way to power this thing. I will be out in a minute,” Hiroshi said with a forced smile.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting in my room when you are finished,” Asami said, with a half smile as her father quickly nodded. She exited the room and proceeded back to her sanctuary, got back into her bed and began to stare at the ceiling as she queued the next song, waiting for her father.

But he never came…

______________________

It eventually became routine for Asami. Every time Asami would want to walk in and ask to spend time with her father or even have dinner, it would be the same response. “I will be out in a minute sweetie,” followed by her father quickly getting back to his projects that had been placed in front of him, tuning her daughter completely out of his life. 

Luckily, Hiroshi still took the treatments and over the course of the next two years, the cancer dwindled to almost nothing. The results of Hiroshi’s treatment blew away the doctor’s as well as Asami herself. It seemed to be a miracle from the universe itself who thought Hiroshi still had a purpose.

_____________________

While she was reminiscing and questioning what to do next, the nurse who was taking care of her father walked into the room. “What happened, Nurse?” Asami said and the doctor replied with “heart attack. It seemed to be a stress-induced one and with your father’s history of chemo, heart attacks are at a higher risk of occurrence.” Asami couldn’t believe the news. “Ever since then, your father has been in an extended unconscious state,” the nurse said. He wasn’t wrong, hearing subtle groans and shuffles of Hiroshi’s feet coming from the bedside. 

She remembered receiving a phone call from one of his co-workers, Varrick, telling her that Hiroshi was headed to the Republic City Hospital. Varrick didn’t have information about what happened to her father. Without thinking, Asami had already been out of the door, phone in hand, desperately trying to get into her car. Varrick had been on the line the whole drive there, trying to calm her down as she was swerving through every line of traffic to make it there. Asami, with over five years of driving experience, was very good at maneuvering even if some of the techniques border on an illegal NASCAR driver. “Not like this,” she thought to herself. She had to see his face again.

After reaching the Republic City hospital, Asami bursted through the front doors with an amount of force she didn’t even know she had. Out of breath, Asami proceeded to ask the front desk secretary what room Hiroshi Sato was located at. She told her “2A West Wing” and she was on the run. “Not like this,” she kept thinking over and over again until she was in front of the room. 

Asami was relieved to see her father’s life support machines still functioning and that beep still playing. “He’s not dead,” she thought as she pulled up a chair next to his bed and sat down accordingly. She reached her hand down and proceeded to stroke her father’s tight grey hair. “Hey Dad,” she said as the tears started to fall.

“And judging by the circumstances at hand currently, we don’t know what the outcome will be so I would recommend that you say your goodbyes now,” the nurse told Asami as she finished her vitals check back from her most recent reminiscion.

Asami, through a set of newly formed tears, croaked a “Thank you Nurse,” before dipping her head down.

“Call me Kya and you’re welcome” the nurse said as she walked out of the room after rubbing Asami’s shoulder, leaving Asami and Hiroshi back together again.

“I don’t know where to start,” Asami said, contemplating the things she wanted to confess to her father if these minutes were the last she would have with him. She finally figured it out, quickly glancing at the life support machine. “Still that song,” she thought as she finally opened her mouth, finally having some semblance of a goodbye statement.

“I want you to know that I’m here for you. I’m still a part of you despite the massive rift we placed between one another. I wish I could have more time to speak with you and bond. It’s funny how you don’t realize the most important things in your life until they are about to be gone. We used to be so close before she died. I always loved when you would help roast marshmallows for me after I burned myself that one time,” Asami said, still reminiscing on the past.

“I remember the times we would eat meals together, joking at anything we could from the media to a stupid movie idea. The times you would read me bedtime stories when I was younger. The days where you would show me those little cartoons in the newspaper that you thought would make me laugh whenever I looked a little down. You come into my room to make sure I’m alright after waking up from those nightmares. The times we spent together.”

Just as she finished her first section of her last words, the machine started to slow down almost as if Asami was comforting him to the next life. She knew she couldn’t stop it so she kept going. She had to be there at least.

“I wish we could have kept that connection. You left me alone after she died. It felt like you didn’t even know I existed half of the time. Always kept up in your work and distancing yourself from your own fucking daughter.” Asami silently yelled at him, which caused his monitor to jolt a little before settling to a slow pace.

“I just wanted to feel like your own blood again. I guess you are probably sad hearing these words come from your daughter but I wanted to say...” Asami pausing for a moment, before deciding to mouth those three words. “I forgive you”. It wasn’t fully true, Asami knew this, but hopefully it would comfort him.

“I understand your reasoning for doing the things you did. You couldn’t take losing her but you wanted to remain strong in front of me. And when you got the cancer and beat it, I was so proud of your dedication. However, that didn’t change our relationship. Once you got better, the same routine from the past continued.” Asami said.

The pulsing got slower as the lines began to grow less frequent and the space between the beeps was stretched out more and more.

“I wish it didn’t have to be like this. I know we could have figured this out. We could have fixed this. I hope you can still be a part of me like I am to you. I hope that you can keep mom safe wherever you go. I wish that wherever you go next will keep you happy and will still allow you to watch over me. I wish you could say you will even though I know you will,” Asami said with a hint of uncertainty but tried to keep a faint smile despite the cold interior Asami had that she didn’t want peeking through. 

“I love you so much,” Asami said, kissing his forehead and letting the final round of tears flow as the machine played that single goodbye tone. It almost sounded like a choir.

The past did not matter right now. Asami was truly alone. No family to rely on. So what if she was angry at her father still. She had no true blood that she could get in contact with that she knew about. No brothers or sisters that she could keep by her side. No grandparents as well. They were gone too.

It didn’t take long for panic to start in Asami. A tightening of her gut as the world seemed so disconnected from her. She felt like a ghost in her own body, staring down at her deceased father. This had happened many times before to Asami but every time, it was still a horrible experience. Realizations of what this means for her broke Asami to the very core.

She realized that the company was now going to be under her charge. She was only 21, not even out of college yet. She had a big responsibility to uphold. Luckily, Asami’s dad prepared for this, educated her in financial and mechanical engineering from a young age. Asami had always had an analytical mind proven by the many long nights focusing on her school projects. Even though she didn’t enjoy her father for what he was in his later years, she still cared deeply for the people invested in Future Industries as well as the company itself. And she would have to go through this with no family either.  
As this panic attack continued and the doctors started to funnel in after hearing that final chord, Asami felt trapped in the swell of eyes surrounding her, analyzing her every movement as if she was some exotic animal at the zoo.

Asami, in this hint of panic, briskly started to walk out of the room and on her way to her car. She could not be seen like this in public. She needed to be safe. She could worry about what to do with her father later. She needed to get away.

Once she reached her car after the horrors of the hospital parking lot and unlocked it in a haste, she slowly started to begin deep breathing exercises taught to her by her therapist from when she was a kid. He never really helped but some things stuck with Asami as she slowly began to relax her muscles and calm down.

_____________________

After calming down from her panic attack, Asami went to put the keys into her car, ready to drive back to her father’s mansion where her boyfriend Mako also resided. “At least I have him,” Asami thought to herself as she slowly began to back out of the hospital parking lot. She didn’t know how long that would last though. One doctor tried to stop Asami but she kept driving. “Now is not the time for that,” she thought to herself as she drove out of the hospital, onto the freeway and back to her home. She needed to think of a way to tell Mako without suffering the same breakdown she just experienced. It will all be figured out soon enough. “It all takes time,” Asami thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t have a true schedule for when I will update this but I am hoping to have a new chapter out every two weeks or sooner. Thanks to my beta readers for enduring my extreme embarrassment of showing my work off in the first place. They helped a lot and I probably wouldn’t have the confidence to do this without some of their backing.


	2. And My Head Keeps Spinning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back. I wanted to start off this brief note by wishing everyone a very merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you are currently celebrating). I hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter and I want to give another thank you to the people who stuck along for the ride so far. This chapter’s song will be linked down below. Enjoy this chapter and the holidays! Leave any criticisms in the comments. I'm still trying to get better with writing and any feedback is appreciated!
> 
> Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3F18I7LhWKxlf1PytSoTBH?si=hQ4rKNAmRmugS8dThXM8bg
> 
> Apple Music:  
> https://music.apple.com/us/album/808s-heartbreak/1441410287 (Play track 2)

The drive home allowed Asami to truly calm her head after the incident that had happened earlier. She wanted to get it over with, break the news to Mako and move on with managing the company. Spending time dwelling on the issue would make it worse and she couldn’t afford to have another breakdown like before if she could. They grew less common as she got older but they still lingered on in the back of her head. Two in the same night did not sound helpful for her mental health. 

Mako and Asami had been great for one another at the start of their relationship in the later parts of their high school years. Asami finally had a person that she could let her emotional weight onto without judgement while Mako was able to finally come out of his reclusive and hardened shell. The relationship felt mutualistic between the both of them and the two were almost inseparable. They constantly tried to make time for one another even through Asami’s entrance into college and when the two split career wise. However, it all changed when Mako joined the Republic City Police Department (RCPD for short) and it seemed as if a switch was flipped in the twenty two year old.

It started subtly but Mako’s workload seemed to increase heavily and left him coming home late and bothered by anyone around him. It had been stressing on the spiky haired man and Asami tried to be supportive of his endeavors, constantly reassuring him that it was acceptable to feel this way for the amount of responsibility placed on the young one. 

However, it lightly reminded Asami of her father and her issues from years past but she brushed these worries aside for him. These late nights of anger from Mako led to him taking his anger out on her in a feisty argument, the first one ever between the two, but ended with them consoling in her bed.

Even though the event had been somewhat recent, Asami tried to stay hopeful for the future.

_________________

After some light thinking and grabbing some takeout food for herself, Asami decided to just make dinner for the two and break the news that way over some alcohol. It was quick, simple and direct. It was perfect. 

“So what if the words are slurred,” Asami jokingly said to herself as she pulled out of her parking spot and drove back onto the highway.

_________________

Asami finally made it back to her father’s mansion in the hills after some more adventurous manuevors with her car through the abysmal Republic City traffic. After the intense journey home, Asami took a moment to marvel at the house in front of her as she caught her breath. The mansion, more like a castle, radiated classiness all around it and that was further proven by the high concrete wall surrounding the premises. It had multiple different etchings of important things to the Sato family such as a Future Industries Logo hidden right at the top of the arch which housed the gate. This metal gate was placed perfectly in the center of the wall and allowed neighbors, passing cars and pedestrians to slightly glance into the Sato property while still creating an effective barrier between the outside world and the interior. The entire house originally had a gothic and mystical look from the outside to Asami when she was younger. After Asami turned eighteen though, her father let her have the house and chose to stay in an apartment close by. That, coupled with the event earlier. made the house become forlorn and almost haunted by the lost souls that were tied to Asami. After her slight marvels, she slowly glanced at her car radio before getting out of the car to unlock the gate. 

_“9:45. It’s not too late.”_

She glanced at the windows of the first floor and then the second while she was typing in the digits to the gate’s passcode until one peculiar sight caught her attention…  
She could see one specific light on from the front side of the house. The bedroom. Their bedroom. For being positioned slightly out of the gate view on the right side, it was still extremely noticeable to the girl. It was unsettling and confusing to Asami but she decided to drive through the steel gate out front anyway. 

_“I thought I beat him here,”_ Asami thought to herself, almost humorously. However, once she drove through the gate, another strange occurrence was sighted…

It was a jaguar with a green paint job parked right next to Mako’s red Mustang Asami bought him as a Christmas present. The car was foreign to her because she knew no one who drove that type of vehicle in her memory. Mako’s brother, Bolin, as well as his girlfriend and old friend of Asami, Opal, both shared a green Ford Focus with one another and Lin Beifong, the police chief, usually drove her patrol car when she came to speak with Mako as well. 

After parking her own car near the other two, Asami got out to go and inspect the stranger’s vehicle for herself. 

_“Might be one of Mako’s coworkers,”_ Asami thought to herself once again, trying to think of the most common reason for this stranger’s appearance. She didn’t want to look like a fool in front of her boyfriend.

As she slowly stepped towards the foreign car, she could see a pack of cigarettes in the driver’s side door, a little metal trinket dangling from the rearview mirror and a photo hanging from the sun visor held on by a simple paperclip. It looked like a happy family and the initials K.B. were inscribed in permanent marker in the top right corner. 

_“At least I have some initials,”_ Asami thought as she began her own detective work.

_________________

After a few minutes of eye searching around the vehicle, the only information she had besides the photo was when she glanced at the license plate. It was registered in the Earth Kingdom which was odd because the only person Asami knew from the Earth Kingdom was Opal and she wasn’t even from the main city.

_“Enough inspecting. Get yourself together,”_ Asami thought to herself once more as she stepped onto the front porch of the mansion and away from the mysterious car. She was ready to find some answers.

After a tiny bit of key fondling, Asami slowly unlocked and pushed the door open, trying not to alert her boyfriend of her presence but as she shut the door, Asami heard the worst noise she could have prepared for...

She could hear almost whisper-like moans coming from upstairs thanks to the balcony that overlooked the front lobby. It was faint but recognizable and a new wave of anger and slight panic swept Asami as she tried to put the pieces together on what could be happening. She took her shoes and jacket off as she approached the carpeted spiral staircase near the front door, still trying not to be heard. 

_“It can’t be,”_ Asami thought as she took the first step on the stairs.

If it is what she thought was happening, Asami wanted to catch him red handed.

And with each step, a new thought would creep in...

_“He knows this is our house.”_

The next step.

_“He’s been at work all this time.”_

Another step.

_“Everything was going perfectly.”_

The final step.

_“We patched things up, right?”_

_________________

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she could rule out her theory of Mako pleasuring himself in the bathroom. She quietly trekked over to their bedroom door as the feeling of anger was about to reach a breaking point in Asami. Intense moans could be heard on the other side of the door, seemingly close to an orgasm. It was definitely Mako’s and she was appalled.

With the new information, Asami wanted to wait for the right moment. Right as she could tell he finished, she proceeded to open the door in a swift motion and was greeted by what she thought couldn’t be true. Her worst nightmare had come to life and that involved Mako being entangled with another woman. Her plan of attack was shattered in an instant, replaced with an immense wave of confusion and disappointment. She could even feel her mouth open in shock. The woman, presumably K.B., had black hair, wore only a green lingerie and had one distinct mole located below her left eye. 

Mako, at the end of coming down from a powerful orgasm, began to change into an expression of confusion, anger and fear as he began to notice Asami’s entry into the scene and her eyes shooting daggers at him. K.B. only had a smirk on her face. 

The woman slowly backed away from Asami’s shaken boyfriend, choosing to stand close to the bedroom windowsill, ready to witness the drama about to unfold between the two “lovers”. 

Mako quickly rose his nude body from the bedside and attempted to put his clothes back on in a hasty manner with Asami’s eyes never laying off of him. She already guessed what was going to happen next and that involved him trying to explain himself and the situation he had been found in followed by a shitty breakup sentence. She would let him go on with it anyway. It was all she could do.

“Asami, this is not what it looks like. I can explain,” Mako said in a whimpery tone, almost ashamed of what he had done.

“Kuvira is just a new recruit on the force. She came over here tonight for guidance from an expert working with the force but she instigated this. After glancing over some papers in this room and in the blink of an eye, my pants were off and she was touching my penis. I didn’t want any of this to happen babe, you know that right?”

Asami continued her confused but determined glance directly into Mako’s eyes. She could notice sweat dripping off of his face. She didn’t know what else to do right then. It was all wrong.

It seems the glance got to the guilty boyfriend as Mako seemed to crumble under his own lies. “I know you probably saw right through that so I might as well be honest with you. I think we lost our spark. That magic we had at the beginning of our relationship is gone now and I feel like I need to get away…”

And that’s when the tightening of Asami’s stomach began once again as his confession continued.

“Work has been getting between us and I needed a way to move forward in my life when I came to this big revelation. Living with myself would give me the opportunity to find the balance I have been waiting on and will allow me to truly become the best detective I can be. Kuvira helped me realize that,” Mako said, ending his mini speech by pointing his index finger towards the girl on the windowsill and with a half smile on his face.

“Mako, I don’t understand,” Asami said following Mako’s somewhat honest confession. It was the only thing she could say now. The conflicting emotions were so intense. Her head kept spinning but she needed to straighten herself out. 

“What did I do wrong?” she said, as the tightening grew too intense and Asami collapsed on the ground, sobbing at her own insecurities.

_“I did this. I pushed him away,”_ Asami thought as she laid on the floor while her supposed “boyfriend” watched. She felt so weak.

_________________

Asami didn’t even tell him the news. She couldn’t think today could get any worse than it did. First, she lost the last tie to her family she knew and now she lost the only person she loved. Asami was truly alone in both worlds.

Asami didn’t know how long she had been on the floor but she knew they were still in the room. The sound of Mako rising off of the bed, their bed, could be heard behind her sobs. Footsteps creaking on floorboards seemingly leading to the door to the bedroom could be heard in Asami’s ear as well. She knew what would happen next.

“Goodbye Asami,” Mako said as he slowly walked out of the bedroom and the roll of a suitcase’s wheels could be heard, grazing the hard wood floor of the second level. 

As Mako left, Kuvira did too and Asami could faintly hear her say to Mako, “Told you that it was good for you to cut ties. Let’s go home babe.”

Asami was right and that’s when the true breakdown began.

The anxiety, sadness, confusion and anger all came in at once while Asami continued to ball. Instead of trying to fight it, she just gave in just as she did minutes prior…

_________________

Asami did not know how long she had been on the floor when she finally rose out of her curled position. She was broken. No family to cling onto. No lover to keep by her side. Not even servants to keep her company. They were dispersed by her father years ago. Asami was truly alone now.

Asami gripped the floor of the bedroom as she pulled herself up and glanced at the time on the clock near the bed. Midnight. It didn’t feel like time moved at all from the time she was on the ground to when she got up. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

She proceeded to the couch of the living room after grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, finally able to process what just happened to the twenty one year old.

One part of Mako’s speech finally connected with Asami while she drank, causing her eyes to widen.

_“Kuvira,”_ Asami thought and the initials made sense. Kuvira was a Beifong!

Asami had heard stories of the Beifongs from Opal and everything started to click in her brain. Opal mentioned her stepsister to Asami and the problems each one had towards one another as kids. She assumed that the windowsill girl was that stepsister. It hurt to know her best friend’s sister caused her relationship fallout but she continued with her revelations.

Along with that, Opal's mother, Suyin, had bad blood with the police chief. It had been a huge deal for the Beifong family back when Lin was first announced to become the chief of RCPD. This bad blood was possibly rooted in jealousy and envy for one another. It all culminated into a brawl in Suyin’s city of Zaofu between the two. The two fought it out in private, taking any steps to avoid it getting out to the public but it got to Asami. 

“No wonder Mako would fall for this girl,” Asami said jokingly in an attempt to calm herself down. If he knew about her connection to Suyin’s side, he probably would have left her. 

The fight allowed the two sisters to get the last of their anger out on one another before going their separate ways, not reconnecting since. The brawl never really made sense to Asami until media outlets revealed that the two were sisters at the beginning of their public rivalry. Suyin, despite having a criminal record, along with Lin were daughters of the late and great Toph. The blind bandit was her nickname in the past due to her being blind as well as the fact she could kick anyone’s ass if she tried. She also formed the RCPD back when Republic City was just getting off of the ground but retired years ago and was replaced by Lin as the head. No one had seen her since. Asami always wondered why Lin had a problem with Suyin though. She was always sweet to Asami when she was younger but had a hint of toughness.

Finally, the last Beifong she knew was Mako’s brother’s girlfriend Opal. She was the one who provided Asami with any info she could about her troubled but loving family that was usually kept under arms in the mainstream media. She hailed from the inventive city of Zaofu but moved to Republic City for high school and college. The two had been best friends through these high school years and both enrolled in RCU, Republic City University, for college but drifted apart over time. Opal was the sweetest to Asami and felt like she had a heart of gold even in their times of disconnection. Academics and partying split the two from one another until Asami heard the news of Opal dating Mako’s brother. It allowed reconnection for the two, which they both needed, through double dates. Bolin was also a sweetheart and the two worked for one another. He was also a good younger brother to Asami and the perfect counterpart to Mako’s stubborn exterior. After putting the dots together of the Beifong lineage, Asami came back to reality and truly realized the rest of the words Mako had said. He truly fell for this other woman. It broke Asami’s heart but she decided to push forward right now. 

_“I already have enough responsibility,”_ she thought as she pushed herself off the couch and went to the guest bedroom.

_________________

After journeying to the guest room, Asami realized how hard it was to actually fall asleep so she instead pondered on something else to do. She needed something that she could do to completely forget about anything that had happened for the time being and after a few options were chosen, she figured it out. 

After settling on her next move, Asami began to race into action from the guest room and grabbed her coat, keys and wallet. After these items were collected, she finally stepped out of the house and into the cold midnight air.

“The night is still young,” Asami faintly said to herself with a rejuvenated smile on her face as she began to climb back into her car. She put the keys in the ignition, adjusted herself in the mirror with a new coat of lipgloss and backed out of the property, not even worried about the gate nearby. 

_“I can fix it later,”_ Asami thought after plowing through the gate with her car and began to drive down the road from where she came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you if you made it this far. I wanted to give a huge amount of gratitude to my beta writer for this one. The subject of the chapter is something I’m not well versed in and I thank them for helping me make this chapter not read as dramatic as it was originally (even if it still feels that way to me). I didn’t think I’d have this chapter out in only 10 days after the first but I might as well ride this creative wave.


	3. But In The End, It's Still So Lonely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the story! I wanted to start this off saying that I am super excited to share this chapter with you. This one was written over the course of a few weeks with a writer’s block being tossed in the middle. Thank you for coming back to this story once more, if you’re reading these notes. Song (s) for this chapter will be linked down below! 
> 
> Song (s) for Chapter:  
> Spotify Variants-  
> Heartless: https://open.spotify.com/track/4EWCNWgDS8707fNSZ1oaA5?si=uZqCXDqmQ92Guk0T8hSHNQ
> 
> Party All The Time:  
> https://open.spotify.com/track/2cFYfUEQrrpWZrjXdXQbzO?si=Kgbap-yhTWmuwYKm9zMp0g
> 
> Apple Music Variants-  
> Heartless: https://music.apple.com/us/album/808s-heartbreak/1441410287 (Play track 3)
> 
> Party All The Time: https://music.apple.com/us/album/xxx-deluxe-version/508262167 (Play track 15)

The roads leading to Republic City were almost completely silent and absent of any traffic at the time. The faint sounds of ambient nighttime could be heard in the distance mainly from crickets chirping. It was just Asami, the car and the little creatures out in the distance. Just like she wanted.

 _“The scene is just too perfect.”_ Asami decided to slam the gas pedal with her right foot and her car began to accelerate rapidly down the long stretch of straight road while all the land seemed to zip behind her. The rush was just the thing she needed.

It felt as if she was on Cloud 9 and the speed made the street lights look like tiny comets in the sky as the car moved past them. The cold, midnight air heavily blew onto the bare parts of Asami’s skin as her raven, black locks blew back past her seat. It had never been that exciting and she even let out a tiny scream of enjoyment in the moment.

 _“I haven’t even made it there yet,”_ Asami thought humorously to herself.

________________

Luckily, it had taken Asami only 20 minutes to reach her next destination of the night. She had heard information about it from Opal which immediately made her skeptical of the place itself. Opal told her that it was where all the action happened in the late night of Republic City but Asami didn’t buy it.

_“Let’s see if your claims are true, Opal.”_

Asami was able to pull into a parking spot across the street from the establishment but wanted to inspect the place first. She decided to try and use her phone to do the job for her tonight but sadly, there was a heavy lack of information about the building on the internet. Asami decided to take it into her own hands and as she lifted her head, a glowing neon sign began to illuminate from the top of the building revealing its name to any observer.

 _“The Avatar, huh? Seems like a ridiculous name for a night club.”_ Asami was fascinated and fixated on the sign, taking in the design of it before diverting her attention to the rest of the exterior.

The outer walls seemed somewhat worn down but still in a decent condition along with the rest of the exterior. There weren’t any plants growing off the side of it, a common trend associated with many of the buildings in this area of the city. However, it was located near the Future Industries office, which surprised Asami herself, but tucked away good enough to not be noticed by the major public. It rode on the outskirts of what most people in RC dubbed “The Green Side”, a collection of abandoned buildings which all had some form of plant life growing on or through them. This did not seem like one of those though…

________________

Satisfied with the info she had, Asami got out of her car and Opal’s prior statements were confirmed to be true somewhat. She could hear youthful screams from a group of people hanging on the balcony of the second floor, all probably in their 20s. Sparklers attached to champagne bottles brightened the blank night sky with tiny lights. Loud music could also be heard and the vibrations of bass were able to move all the way across the street.

 _“House of Balloons? Never thought I would hear that song here,”_ Asami thought in astonishment at the DJ’s music taste as she stumbled over to the queue line in the distance humming the chorus.

The energy of the place was foreign to the twenty one year old and made her worried that she wouldn’t fit in with this scene but she pressed onwards. It felt as if the two sides of her mind were battling with every few steps across the street and into the line. One told her to retreat back to her car and do the same monogamous tasks Asami did whenever a tragic or depressing event happened to her while the other encouraged her to keep going forward. 

________________

After placing herself into the line minutes prior, Asami grew restless on her journey to the front which was close to being completed. From a first impression, Asami was somewhat disappointed by how long the bouncer took for individual inspection compared to the other club she went to before in the city. 

To conceal herself from onlookers and queuemates, she wore the hood of her red jacket as far forward as possible to avoid detection whilst she waited for her examination. It felt childish but it was better to not have people recognize and antagonize her. The person in front of her was just let into _The Avatar_ allowing Asami to finally get herself identified and let in. However, her stealthy plan was destroyed in an instant when she gave her ID to the bouncer and a jovial voice could be heard.

“Asami?” the bouncer said and before she could look up, she was put into a massive bear hug by a familiar friend.

“Hi Bolin,” Asami said while trying to reclaim some oxygen for herself mid hug.

“Hey Asami! How have you been?” Bolin said after releasing Asami from his tight grip as he showed the same loveable smile Asami knew him for.

Asami hesitated for a moment before replying with a simple, “I’ve been doing fine. How about you?”

_If only you knew..._

“I’ve been ok too. Finally got a new job being the bouncer here. Pretty cool if you ask me,” Bolin said happily as he jokingly flexed his arms.

“Oh, I can see that. I saw you throwing multiple people out earlier. Must be fun.”

“Yeah, it is. Mako called me an idiot for picking it up but I told him it was for the best.”

_“Mako… don’t think about it, don’t think about it…”_

“Anyways, what are you doing here tonight? Never really took you as a party girl.”

Asami was now stuck in a blank stare before Bolin graciously moved his hand in front of her. “Oh, I enjoy having some fun once in a while, Bo. You know that,” Asami said, playfully punching Bolin in the shoulder.

“Yeah yeah. We all need some fun in our lives once in a while. I want to tell you to be careful though. The amount of drunks I have had to drag out recently have been overwhelming.”

“I will, Bo. I know how to handle myself. How’s Opal doing?”

Those words really did it. Bolin froze for a moment before replying with “Can I be honest with you? Not very good.” 

Asami was surprised at Bolin’s claims before replying with, “Bolin, what’s going on?,” worried for her friend’s condition as she clasped her hands together.

After a few seconds of silence, Bolin quickly spoke and said “She’s been coming here a lot recently just to end up getting fucked up by the end of the night. I’ve been having to take her home during her drunken episodes and I’m getting worried about her, Asami. I might have even seen cocaine on her nose one night too. I don’t know why she’s doing this but it’s making me scared.” The words seemed to trip over themselves as they continued to fly out of Bolin’s mouth and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. Luckily for Asami, she had a knack for deciphering fast-tempered language.

 _“Coke?”_ Asami thought and the two sides of her mind began to fire up once again. One seemed to create a new idea for the engineer but she pushed it aside while her reasonable side grew worried and urged Asami to check on her friend.

“That’s terrible Bo,” as she placed a hand on his shoulder once his eyes went down to the floor. “Is she here tonight?”

“Yeah. She is. If at any point tonight, could you please check on her for me please?”

“I will. Where will she be anyway?”

“She’ll probably be in the VIP section but luckily for you, your name is already on that list. You should get in easy,” Bolin said and playfully punched Asami on the shoulder for payback. 

“Ok Bo. I’ll give her a little visit tonight.,” Asami said, not trying to question why her name was on this supposed VIP list despite never being in this club before. It was concerning but she was able to gloss over this feeling just like many other emotions from her past.

“Thanks ‘Sami. I owe you one,” Bolin said, as he gave her back her ID and she walked through the curtained front door.

“You’re welcome, Bo. See you later.” Asami shouted to her through the dense sound of the music.

_Welcome to the Avatar..._

________________

As soon as Asami stepped into the building, a combination of sweat and alcohol radiating off of the attendees could be smelt. The stench was unbearable, to the point where Asami plugged her nose in disgust as she frantically searched for a chair to sit down at away from the door. Thankfully, there was one conveniently placed near a mural that was almost waiting for Asami’s use. She took up on the chair’s nonverbal request as she began to visually analyze the interior.

_“Why are you even doing this?”_

The Avatar’s lobby was confined in terms of space but still big enough to house numerous party-goers. A bathroom could be seen to the left of Asami’s position where a drunken girl seemed to step in on the verge of puking her guts out. The distant sound made after the door shut confirmed that heavily. 

_“I’ll keep that in mind for later.”_

Down the center hall, the dance floor could be seen past the many guests crowding the hallway either in their acts of conversation or half baked makeout sessions. From Asami’s point of view, it seemed to have a pretty decent crowd and a pricey DJ setup could be seen on the stage due to it being placed on a riser for added godlike effect. The lights pulsating from the floor and the ceiling were both blinding and hypnotizing while the music was louder than outside tenfold.

 _“At least they got good taste,”_ Asami thought as the song changed to a bouncy Aphex Twin track.

To the right of her, a mini bar could be seen placed next to a stairwell which presumably led to the balcony she saw earlier. Surprisingly, the bar side was deserted compared to the left and middle parts of the first floor. 

_“Might as well start light tonight,”_ Asami thought as she got up from her reclined position and walked towards the bar. From the few experiences of drinking in the past, Asami was not a lightweight at all and has been known to outlast all of her friends in drinking games but those days were over. Her earlier plans for the night had been interrupted by her caring nature to check on her friend so she definitely wouldn’t be getting tipsy anytime soon from this. The stench of the place seemed to have faded out of recognition as well, allowing her to finally unclench her nostrils too.

“Two Bud Lights please,” Asami said after a few moments of fiddling and decision making at the table.

“Yes ma’am,” the bartender replied and almost like magic, the bottles were already in front of her. Asami had no time to be dwelling on her beverages though so she downed them in a fast manner.

_“Ah, still as mediocre as I remember.”_

Asami thanked the bartender and got up from her seat to go and find her friend on the dance floor. However, unbeknownst to the engineer, the hardest part of her stay so far would present itself. Traversing through the hallway to get there…

The hallway seemed to fill with pedestrians during her brief visit to the mini bar and the amount of nonsensical people was noticeable. As she stepped through the clusters of conversation and intimate sessions, both murmurs of horniness and anger presented itself while she squeezed, the music grew louder as well.

________________

After sailing through the sea of people, Asami finally made it to the dance floor. The crowd of dancers was thick but transparent thanks to the help of the elevated floor above the party’s center, only being accessed by stairs. After some quick searching, Asami could see the VIP center in the distance. Opal looked as if she was having the time of her life, swaying to the music and holding what looked like a bottle of Apple Ciroc in her hand. She didn’t look totally destroyed yet. Asami took another look at the stairs, then at Opal and then inside herself as multiple thoughts came into fruition.

_“Bolin would understand if I took some time for myself first, right?”_

_“She’s your friend. You promised Bolin too!”_

_“You’re always living for others. Take some time for yourself for once. She can wait, I mean look at her.”_

That last one caught her interest. Asami always seemed so concerned with helping everyone else that she never took time for herself and with the opportunity to do that, she’ll give it up?

“You’re right,” Asami said to herself, nodding with affirmation of her decision. However, once she took a step towards the stairs, anxiety flew in. It wasn’t common knowledge to most but Asami hated being out in public especially with the reputation of the Sato family. They were both praised and targets of infuration from the people over rumours of “unethical business practice.”

Instead of putting herself in mental pain, Asami knew what she had to do if she wanted to truly have fun. She climbed back up to the higher floor and turned around towards the nightmarish hallway she had just come from. Luckily, the crowd had thinned out almost as if a “God” was calling her back.

_“Well, it’s my lucky day.”_

________________

After walking back through the hall, Asami was right back where she started. The mini bar. It was time to take matters into her own hands.

“Get me a shot of that Jack Daniels over there.”

Thankfully for her sake, the employee was hasty in delivering her request and placed the shot glass in front of her. After seeing it in person, she began having doubts but took the glass and drank anyway, feeling the burning sensation of the liquid passing through her throat. A new type of worry set into Asami, probably in response to the foreign feeling from the whiskey. She knew just the thing to do.

“Another one, please?”

Down it went...

“One more?”

Down the hatch…

“Ok. Maybe one more?”

And it was gone once again…

________________

The shot number continued to grow once or twice after those four previous shots and the pain from early became numb. The buzz had slowly set in and Asami truly began to feel loose. The worries from earlier seemed to all melt away from her psyche as a huge smile grew on her face as her face turned red. She promptly stumbled away from the mini bar, or at least tried to, before moving back into the hallway.

The hallway was still evacuated from earlier and gave Asami an easier chance for returning to the floor.

 _“At least I don’t have to crawl through those fuckers again,”_ Asami thought slowly, chuckling to herself at the comment.

It was a quick process but she was back in the dance room and ready to party this time around. Her legs seemed to move on their own accord as they landed onto the dance floor. No worrisome thoughts to concern her. No standards to uphold. Just her, the music and pure unkempt emotion.

The DJ had seemed to switch the song and her body moved by itself as she attempted to soak into the music.

________________

It had taken a few songs to get a rhythm down to Asami’s motions but once she got it, she couldn’t stop. Her legs would stumble over each other as she tried to do the little jigs shown by other kids back in high school but failed. That tension in the gut was faint once more as she almost fell right on her face before straightening herself. However, this motion allowed Asami to truly look at the scene around her. Numerous guests could be seen drinking, smoking and utilizing every drug under the sun in the room. Laughs from people could be heard all around and Asami’s mind was able to make one impactful connection. They looked happy and unaware of the world around. They didn’t worry about the problems that others had. They didn’t judge. They just existed just as Asami was. 

_“I’ll be there sometime…”_

Except there was one that was truly aware…

Near the railing overlooking the floor, Asami saw a caramel skinned woman with extremely vibrant blue eyes staring intently at her. A slight smirk on her face could be seen as she remained perched on the railing like a vulture waiting to strike a dead corpse. It was menacing and the working parts of Asami’s head began to think the worst.

_“Why is she watching me?”_

_“She knows who I am, doesn’t she?”_

_“It’s one of those spys from Cabbage Corp, isn’t it?”_

Her dampened mind could not take the situation at hand and Asami did the best thing she could. Run.

________________

It had been difficult but using the guardrail, Asami was able to pull herself up the stairs in a haste. She turned around once she reached the top to look at the scene for the woman and she seemed to have disappeared. Asami sighed in relief from this discovery and closed her eyes for a brief moment.

_“It’s ok, Sato. She isn’t real. She isn’t real. She can’t hurt you.”_

After reopening them, Asami’s position allowed her to make eye contact with the person who completely forgot about from the start. Opal.

The black haired lady seemed to be in her own stupor herself with her mouth slightly open and eyes opened barely. She was now seen laying in a circular booth that the VIP section provided and looked to be asleep. It was unnerving.

 _“How could I forget about her? I have to check on her still,”_ and in Asami’s heightened drunken stupor, slowly proceeded over to the VIP lounge where Opal was residing. It was a lengthy process but didn’t result in any forms of collision and injury.

After pushing through a final crowd of molly dippers, she was able to make it to the second bouncer.

“Name please?” the bouncer spoke in a monotone demeanor.

It might have been the alcohol prompting her to think this way but Asami’s tampered mind had been offended by this type of treatment.

“I’ll have you know that you are talking to Asami Sato, the next CEO of Future Industries so you should know your place,” she said in a slurred tone that was even laughable to herself. It felt good to be aggressive though.

The bouncer pulled out his clipboard of names as he studied the paper for Asami Sato. and was able to locate it on one of the last pages, “Ah, I see. You may pass young lady. Be careful though. The other one gets feisty at nighttime.” the bouncer said as he reached towards the white rope and unclipped it from it’s holding station, allowing the twenty one year old to enter the new area.

________________

As she got closer to Opal, now seemingly incapacitated in her booth, the remnants of what looked like a fine white powder as well as finely ground weed could be seen on the glass table in front of her. Once she reached her destination, Asami decided to forcefully sit next to Opal, knocking her out of her zone and back into the world.

“Who goes there?” Opal said, quickly as she threw her hands up in a fighting style. This stance did not last long as Opal clenched her nose from pain and faintly screaming. 

“Damn fuckers can’t even supply me with real shit! Oh, hello Asami. What brings you here tonight? Can’t you see I’m busy.” 

“Haha. Opal, you silly goose. I just wanted to check on you.”

Opal seemed incredibly angry with the other girl as an angry scowl was growing in her eyes directed right towards Asami.

“Bolin sent you, didn’t he? He always thinks I can’t handle myself with my stuff but yes, I can! I’m a grown woman for Christ’s sake. Anyways, yes I’m fine. Now go.” Opal said as her leg began to shake up and down. She almost seemed possessed but that didn’t matter as Asami’s eyes gravitated towards the white powder on the table.

“What the hell are you looking at, huh? Think you’re gonna steal my shit from me?”

Asami was both stunned and amused from her friend’s prior actions while intrigued about the new idea from earlier, brought back into the forefront in that moment. Opal’s eyes were darting around the area at a fast rate, eerily similar to Raoul Duke, while her hands occasionally clenched into fists before releasing moments later. 

“You gonna speak up or sit there, missy?”

Asami was presented with a new choice. A new window of opportunity was presented to her and the two voices of her head came back. _“You’re already drunk out of your mind. What’s a little cocaine gonna do to you? It’ll probably wake you up too. It shouldn’t be that hard either. Think about the other addicts you have seen.”_ one said while the other spoke to _“think about your nostrils. You just saw the pain Opal went through from it. Do you really want to try it?_

“Yes,” Asami said and the answer was clear. No second thoughts were needed,

“You see Opal? I was kidding about silly Bolin. I really just wanted to get a little use of that stash if you don’t mind.”

“I know what you’re doing,” Opal said mockingly, quickly pointing a finger at Asami as she continued to speak. “You want to lace my shit, don’t you? Well, newsflash. It isn’t even pure cut so take it. Maybe that will shut you up,” Opal said as she stepped away from the glass table.

And Asami jumped at the opportunity...

_“Think about your friends”_

Asami grabbed a nearby credit card as she attempted to form a line.

_“Think about your job.”_

Her hand began to reach into her pocket and pull out her wallet.

_“Think about yourself”_

Asami grabbed out the first bill she found as she rolled it into a thin straw. She pressed one end into her nostril as the other was aiming towards the glass table. She got on her knees as she exhaled slowly, staring at the white line in front of her. The roll was moved directly towards the line...

_“Think about your future”_

“I know my future.”

And she snorted deeply.

________________

Like Opal displayed earlier, that same sinus burning began hastily in Asami as the drug stuck to the tissues of her nostrils and went down her throat. The sensation felt as if her nose had been coated in hot pepper juice and running deeply down her throat. Light dribbles of snot could be seen running out of her nose onto the illuminated ground below as well. She heard that numbness will ensue eventually from other snorters soon enough but she couldn’t wait that long.

Almost as her “God” heard her pleas, the numbness began in her nose and itchy throat as she slowly became invigorated and pulled out of her drunken stupor just a few moments later. She could feel her hand clasp into a fist as a big smile became plastered onto her face while she began to stroll out of the VIP section, not before putting extra powdered remnants in a plastic bag for safekeeping. Opal was gracefully sitting back in her booth with her head leaning towards the ceiling, back in her zone. 

_“Thank you Opal,”_ Asami thought as she gave her a light wave before proceeding to crawl under the red rope blocking the room from the rest of The Avatar. Still under poor eyesight, she attempted to begin her adventure to the place she knew would be perfect for the occasion.

A sense of immense panic began once she was encountered by the rest of the party attendees at the tables though. Asami could see that same figure from earlier watching her once again with a newspaper covering her eyes.

_“What does she want with Asami Sato anyway? I could beat her ass if I wanted too.”_

Asami attempted to ignore her uninhibited and angered thoughts as she sped walked towards the place she knew she would not be disturbed. Her body was growing restless and her heartbeat sounded much quicker than what she felt inside her body. It was intense but Asami pushed forward.

________________

The second floor of The Avatar was much more rundown than the first accompanied with tiny paint chips indented into the hall's blue walls. Another bathroom was beneficially placed near the stairwell as well as another metal door that Asami assumed led to the balcony down the hall. Before she could even process it, she was already in front of the door and praying for her assumptions to be correct as her heartbeat thumped in her ears in anticipation.

She pushed the door open by butting into it with her side and she was greeted by a few groups of partygoers and the balcony itself while the Moon shined high in the sky as the stars danced around it. The balcony area was decently sized with a few tables scattered across the area of open space and groups of people gathered at two separate tables, each holding bottles of champagne with more sparklers attached.

 _“Times never change, huh?”_ Asami thought as she migrated to the farthest away she could be from the groups and grabbed one chair near the edge of the balcony. She attempted to place it specifically near the rail as she sat down, and attempted to ride her first coke high. The scene was perfect, dangling at the edge of the earth, staring into the sky.

However, her moment of peace was short-lived as a newcomer’s footsteps could be heard in Asami’s rearview…

“Having fun, eh?” a feminine voice could be heard behind Asami’s head, prompting her to open her eyes and position herself appropriately in the seat. She glanced towards the sound and was enamored with fear. That same woman from earlier was standing right in front of her and she was talking?

“Sorry for startling you. Mind if I sit down?” the voice asked in another attempt to start conversation. This time, Asami did not stay bewildered with her and became aware of her body beginning to huddle in euphoric fear, writhing in the pleasure of her tightened muscles.

“Hey, it’s ok. I’m not here to hurt you at all, ok. What happened?” the voice said a third time, attempting to touch Asami’s right shoulder but did not fight the touch as her muscles began to relax. 

“That’s better. I’m Korra.”

“A..a..asami,” Asami said as she attempted to reach her hand out for it to be shaken.

“Well, hello Asami. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Korra said, in a mockingly formal tone before reaching her hand to be shaken towards Asami. Asami accepted the gesture but her hand began clenching hard.

“My dad always taught me about firm handshakes and strength. I enjoy having some competition.”

 _“Dad… Don’t think about it”_ as Asami’s facial demeanor changed and her eyes went down. Korra seemed to pick up on the queue as she began to ask...

“Do you need to talk about what just happened or...?”,

“Nope. I’m fine. Just really paranoid, that’s all.”

_“It’s easier this way.”_

“Ok then Asami, what do you do for a living??”

“Going to college for engineering at RCU. How about you?” It was simple, nothing else she needed to add for Korra’s sake. Compared to any other conversation, Asami’s mind and mouth were disconnected as her mouth spit the first thing coming to her head. It was different but exciting. She couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or her own mind keeping her speech sounding close to normal but it was helpful. Maybe it was even her great public speaking skills shining through for once.

“I used to go to RCU but I left that life. I am now trying to run a failing club.” Korra said with a chuckle.

“Wait, you’re the owner? It doesn’t seem that broken and you did hire my friend as a bouncer so I count that as a success.”

“Oh, Bolin? I love the dude.”

“He was unemployed for a while and I’m happy to see him finally getting his chance of something great.”

_“Yeah, like I’m ever going to get that.”_

“Good to hear I did your friend well,” Korra said while playfully saluting causing a full blown laugh to erupt from Asami’s inside. Her body worked in only extremes now. 

During her gesture, Korra’s phone began to ring in her pocket and after seeing the caller ID, Korra looked worried.

“It’s Bo. I bet it’s important. I gotta go.”

“Wait, before you leave. I just have to ask, can I have your number? You seem like a strong one yourself and I’d love to hang out more.”

“You mean, like a date?”

“Hahaha, no. Unless you want it to be?”

_“What the fuck are you doing? You’re going to let her down too.”_

“Alrighty then, Asami.” Korra said, proceeding to scribble her number onto a spare napkin on the table and answering Bolin’s phone call. “I’ll see you around.”

“You too.” Korra said, before running back into the club and Asami grabbed the numbered napkin, folding it up and placing it in her pocket. She felt content but that feeling wouldn’t last long…

________________

It started suddenly but Asami’s confidence boosted faded rapidly after Korra’s absence as the thoughts came back into her head.

_“What were you thinking?”_

_“Think of what she’ll say seeing you not like this. You’ll be a mess.”_

_“You made a mistake!”_

It was overwhelming and tiny traces of bile could be felt crawling in Asami’s throat as she began to run back into the club.

________________

The sound of feet hitting the floor…

Pushing through a door…

The staircase…

_“I’ll keep that in mind for later.”_

________________

Asami didn’t know how long she was crouched in front of the toilet, releasing the insides of her body into the bowl. All she could feel was the pain from the vomit passing through her throat along with a pain in her stomach. It was unbearably uncomfortable probably due to the smell of her vomit being almost as worse as the pain of excreting it.

 _“That was not expected. Maybe I can stand up and NOPE!”_ as a second coming of bodily fluid trickled out of her mouth before finally ending and giving Asami a chance to stand on her legs once again. She immediately moved towards the sink in hopes to wash any traces of puke off of her hands or clothing. Luckily, none ended on her outfit but a few dribbles stuck to her hands. She proceeded to squirt soap into her hand before looking into the cracked mirror provided for her.

Her nose appeared more puffy than usual and her eyes looked bloodshot. It was pitiful, disgusting but Asami didn’t care, smiling in the face of herself.

 _“That was amazing,”_ Asami thought before exiting the bathroom with her belongings and walked down the stairs, clumsily but confidently. She was about to exit through the curtained door from where she came before a hand could be felt on her shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a familiar voice could be heard behind her and after turning, Asami was greeted once again by Korra.

“Home. I think I’m done for the night.” Asami said, her voice slightly subdued once again.

“You think you’re driving yourself home after what you just did? I saw you on the steps. Let me drive you home. I want you to get home safe.”

_“Maybe I don’t want that.”_

“No. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

“Tired, huh? Asami, I’ve encountered many drunk people here. Do you really think I’m going to believe that?”

“I’m not drunk!” Asami said before looking deeply into Korra’s eyes, seeing the true concern she exhibited. It felt real. ‘But if you insist on driving me home, I guess you can.”

________________

After a few more minutes of stumbling in the parking lot and across the street, Asami and Korra finally made it to Asami’s vehicle and got inside promptly. The keys were thrown towards Korra in the car as Asami leaned her head back into her seat, not before glancing over at the radio clock.

 _“3 AM huh? Not too late. Good job for that, Asami,”_ as she attempted to doze off into sleep until Korra lightly woke her up to ask one simple question.

“Asami, where do you live anyway?”

“Sorry about that, it’s XXXX. The Sato Mansion,” as she laid back into her chair. “Now, let me sleep,” Asami said with a bit of snarkiness as the two drove in silence back towards the estate.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a lot. The two songs referenced in the chapter will be linked down below and thank you once again for reading this. Any criticism would be nice if you had any for the comments below. I’m trying to become better at writing and delivering the best I can. One big shout out to my beta writer for this one and giving me some ideas for added "realism". These notes sound redundant as fuck, I know but thanks once more. See you next time!
> 
> House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls: https://open.spotify.com/track/50iiDJGpAPdr2VTrz999XA?si=fKPYjD3eQKmMT1xKelZ_Sw
> 
> The bouncy Aphex Twin track (Pulsewidth):  
> https://open.spotify.com/track/643gyipSU7dkmrFhJ8UAIm?si=gjYURymoR2aZAAyTzHJYKw

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t have a true schedule for when I will update this but I am hoping to have a new chapter out every two weeks or sooner. Thanks to my beta readers for enduring my extreme embarrassment of showing my work off in the first place. They helped a lot and I probably wouldn’t have the confidence to do this without some of their backing.


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